Johnny Manziel inconsistent in Browns intrasquad scrimmage

AKRON, Ohio – Turn on any sports talk show in Northeast Ohio, and the subject is the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback situation, specifically how long it will take rookie Johnny Manziel to beat out veteran Brian Hoyer?

Based on Saturday morning’s intrasquad scrimmage at the University of Akron, there’s no doubt who’s the most popular. And it’s not Hoyer, an Ohio native who was 3-0 as a starter in 2013 before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

While their stadium undergoes renovations, the Browns made the short trip south to InfoCision Stadium, where many of the 20,672 brown- and orange-clad fans wore No. 2 Johnny Manziel jerseys and cheered each time he trotted onto the field with the second-team offense.

It was obvious during Saturday’s scrimmage that Manziel still has a lot to learn in offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s complicated system.

At Texas A&M, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a redshirt freshman, Manziel electrified fans across the nation with his improvisational skills. Shanahan demands self-discipline as he learns a new system.

So, for now at least, it’s Hoyer over Manziel.

“There’s no gap that I’m looking at right now,” Manziel said in response to a question about closing the gap. “I’m learning the playbook and getting used to the terminology.

“The practices have really been helping me a lot. I keep saying it, and I know it’s getting old, but I’m trying to get better every day. That’s the story of my life right now. I have to get more familiar with every play in our offense, and days like today help me do that.”

Manziel had a couple of busted plays on his first series but settled down on the second. Overall, he was inconsistent throwing the ball.

Outside the red zone, Manziel was 3-of-7 for 14 yards. He took snaps under center and from the shotgun.

In the red zone, he had a touchdown dropped by receiver Charles Johnson on a quick slant. His best pass was a perfect corner route to tight end Gary Barnidge, who came down out of bounds.

That’s a problem that’s going to praise whoever starts at quarterback. Without star receiver Josh Gordon, who’ll be suspended by the NFL next week, the Browns may have the worst wide receivers in the NFL.

When Manziel plays, expect him to be forced to run a lot since that’s something he does so well.

On Saturday, Manziel was exciting on his runs – especially read options called by Shanahan – but he failed to put his unit in the end zone.

“Not very good at the beginning, obviously,” Manziel said. “I had a little bit of a setback. That’s going to happen. Now I have to eliminate those (mistakes).

“I thought we moved the ball pretty well after the first drive. We had a 16-play drive on the second series. We kept the chains moving after coming out sloppy.

“Kyle called some plays to get me on the edge and try to move the chains. I think the plays worked well.”

Since reporting on July 23, it’s been all-football all the time for Manziel, who entered the draft as a third-year sophomore and was the 22nd overall pick by the Browns.

Despite his off-the-field shenanigans in the summer, Manziel’s popularity has grown with his notoriety.

Shanahan, who coached Robert Griffin III during his rookie year at Washington, and coach Mike Pettine can’t make an emotional decision when they announce the starter.

Most expect Hoyer to begin the season as the starter. He’s recovered from the knee injury.

Like Manziel, he failed to put his unit in the end zone in the scrimmage, but his experience is more suited for the tough early schedule at Pittsburgh and at home against New Orleans and Baltimore.

After a bye week, the Browns play at Tennessee. They host the Texans on Nov. 16.

Manziel will be making progress if he gets some repetitions with the first team for the first time.

“We’re going to have a full staff meeting (Sunday) and really start to set the blueprint for the week,” Pettine said. “I’m sure (reps with the first team) will be a topic of discussion.

“When camp began, Brian was the one because we had to put somebody out there with the (first team), but they were competing against each other, and at some point we’ll mix the units. I think that it’s all part of our evaluation process.”

Pettine had some praise for Manziel after the scrimmage.

“It’s clear to see we had some runs in for him, and you could see that’s going to be a strength of his and some completions on the run,” Pettine said. “That’s certainly playing to his skill set.”

As a rookie, Manziel is having to learn something as simple as hearing plays called with a communication device in his helmet – the “headset” as he called it.

“Kyle’s really helping me get used to it,” he said about the Texans’ former assistant coach. “I’m learning and adjusting. Right now, I’m fine with how things are going.

“It’s about learning as much of the offense as I can and going from there. I work hard in practice, and then preseason games will come around, and then the coaches will access the situation and go from there.”